Guinness Recognizes Exercises in Style

In a ceremony held in Zagreb in mid-January, the great Croatian actors, Lela Margetić and Pero Kvrgić, were handed a plaque by the Guinness Book of World Records for the cult performance “Exercises in Style”. It was declared the longest running theater performance in the world that still stars the same cast. This show has been on the stage in Croatia for 41 years.

In a ceremony held in Zagreb in mid-January, the doyens of Croatian theater scene, Lela Margetić and Pero Kvrgić, were handed a plaque by the Guinness Book of World Records for the cult performance “Exercises in Style”. It was declared the longest running theater performance in the world that still stars the same cast. This show has been on the theater stage in Croatia for 41 years and the two splendid actors have been working together in it for 39 years. “Exercises in Style” has officially been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running theater performance in the world, even though “The Mousetrap”, a show which is still being performed in London, is slightly older. The record-breaking “Exercises in Style” has been included in the printed edition of the Guinness Book, which only publishes a small number of the collected world records.

“Exercises in Style” was put on stage in 1968 by Tomislav Radić who based it on the text of the French poet and novelist Raymond Queneau. The play tells the story, in a number of different variations, of a normal everyday situation on tram number 11 – an argument which ensued between two young men after one stepped on the other's foot. Thanks to the virtuoso acting of the two artists, the play has become a top-class comedy which has brought smiles to many generations of audiences, and ensured it its longevity.